No Tears Left to Cry
by Sparkling Patronus
Summary: [Musicalverse] Oneshot. Elphaba has but one dying wish, and that is to let her best friend know the way her story really ended.


**Title: No Tears Left to Cry**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: ElphabaxFiyero**

**Summary: Elphaba has but one dying wish, and that is to let her best friend know the way her story really ended.**

**Um, hi. I honestly have absolutely no idea what came over me when I was writing this. It's completely different from my usual stories, and I don't think I ever pictured myself writing anything like it. I'm usually one for the sappy, perfect happy endings, this is probably the opposite. However, the idea for this oneshot came to me while I was zoned out in class this morning, and I had to write it down. You may or may not like it, as it's a little strange really. However, I would appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, so please leave a review.**

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Ten years. For ten years they had been living as hermits; shut off from society with no company from outsiders. This life style had been disheartening and oftentimes difficult, but they'd had no choice in the matter. They'd made due with what they had, however little, and each grew completely dependant on the other. That was the way it had been through the long years since Elphaba and Fiyero had escaped the Emerald City together, and by this point they could hardly remember living any other way.

But now their situation had changed drastically. It had been five months since Elphaba had fallen ill, and all hope of recovery had been abandoned some time ago. At first it had seemed like a simple virus, she'd been feeling fatigued and had gotten sick in the bathroom a few times. However, the weeks passed and her strength did not return. In a matter of two months she was bedridden, and hardly had strength to do anything on her own. Fiyero stayed by her side through it all, helping her in anyway he could and attempting to make her as comfortable as possible.

When the sickness had first become serious, Fiyero had wanted to take her to a doctor. However, they knew the risk of this was far too great. There was no way of telling who could be trusted, and Elphaba refused to go to anyone for help. She would not put Fiyero in danger for her own needs. She was always so strong, Elphaba, always so selfless. The hardships she'd faced in her life were nothing but unjust, but then no one had ever said that life was fair. She needed Fiyero more than she would ever admit, she needed him there with her. She needed to know there was something good in her life, something that had not been taken away.

Elphaba could now practically feel death approaching, could feel its icy fingers at the edge of her consciousness. She did not have long. She lacked the strength to sit up straight on her own, and her power of speech was leaving her. She spent most of the day sleeping, and when she was awake she said nothing, but simply lay in Fiyero's arms until consciousness left her once more.

It was with the knowledge that she would be leaving this earth very soon that Elphaba made a decision to do something she'd been debating in her mind for some time. When Fiyero left her room to prepare breakfast (she always refused to eat, but he made it for her anyway), a time during which she was usually still asleep, she used every last ounce of strength in her being to pull herself up into a sitting position. Reaching into the drawer of the nightstand that stood by her bed, she found a pen and a crumpled piece of parchment and spread them out in front of her.

Her hand was shaky and weak, but her purpose kept her strong. She wrote with conviction, knowing there was no time to scratch out and rewrite each word, each sentence, each paragraph. She wrote with a sense of urgency, one final purpose before her heart stopped beating.

When Fiyero entered the room, it was to find his lover scribbling feverishly on the parchment, her concentration focused completely on whatever it was she was doing. Fiyero recognized the glint in her eyes, for throughout this whole ordeal it had never left her. Elphaba had always been passionate, had always had a fire in her eyes. He knew that fire would never be extinguished, even once those eyes were eternally closed.

She looked up as he entered, and beckoned him to her bedside with what little strength she had left. She took a shaky breath and spoke, her voice raspy and weak from illness, "Yero, you've been so wonderful to me. Could I possibly ask one last favor of you?"

"Anything," he said without hesitation. He took her limp hand and ran smooth circles along its green surface with his thumb. Her skin would never cease to amaze him. While it repelled others, he'd always found it fascinating. But then, he'd always found everything about her fascinating. She'd changed him in so many ways, and he could not bear to think about what his life would be like had he never met her.

She held the parchment out to him, "Please, give this to Glinda. It's extremely important to me that she know what happened, what really happened. I have nothing to lose now, and nobody will know you once I'm gone. There is noting left to fear now."

Fiyero nodded as he wordlessly took the note from her. It had always bothered Elphaba that she hadn't been able to tell her best friend the truth. Fiyero's heart had broken for her, but he knew there was no way they could safely contact Glinda. She had listened to him and had actually given in for once in her life. She'd been resigned to wondering what her friend was up to and hoping that Glinda thought of her at least every once in a while. Fiyero was not surprised in the least that it should be her dying wish to have one last conversation with her friend, even if it was one sided.

"I'll make sure I get it to her," he promised, carefully placing the letter into the pocket of his ragged overalls. He'd been wearing the same outfit since they'd begun living in this cottage. After all, there really was no reason for a Scarecrow to change his clothes, and besides, he had none with him. His being straw had not really affected their relationship, except for the vital difference in that they could no longer make love to each other, as Fiyero now lacked a certain part of the male anatomy. But their relationship had never really centered on that, and so they were able to overlook it rather easily. However, Fiyero did oftentimes wonder if they would have had children if not for his condition.

Elphaba gave a weak smile and slumped down into her pillows. Her breathing evened out as she once again fell into slumber, and Fiyero let her hand drop to her side. If he left now he would be able to make it to the Emerald City and back by nightfall. For a normal human it was three day's journey on foot, but Fiyero needed no food or rest and could continuously move at a quick pace. Elphaba would be fine until he returned. She would most likely sleep through the day, and food was not a problem as she had not eaten a proper meal in over a month.

He left the room without looking back, afraid he would be unable to leave her. He had to fulfill her final wish, his last act in her name. She'd been through so much in her life, she deserved this at least. He tightened his burlap fists in determination as he left their small cottage, closing the door softly behind him.

He had no conscious memory of his journey to the Emerald City. He assumed it was because his mind was so full of other thoughts and worries that he had not paid attention to his surroundings at all. His feet seemed to carry him almost on instinct, even though he had not been through these parts in many years. He could not explain it and did not try to. Nothing was important to him anymore but Elphaba, his lover who was currently lingering near death.

Before he knew it, Fiyero found himself coming upon the Emerald Palace. As he walked through the streets he was struck by the familiarity of his surroundings, and his heart ached as he remembered the events that had taken place here as if it had been only yesterday. They'd all been so young at the time. They'd had no idea that their actions would so deeply affect the rest of their lives.

Fiyero had no trouble passing through the city, though some Ozians whispered as he passed by, recognizing him as the infamous Scarecrow who had disappeared without a trace so many years ago. He pressed on without paying them the slightest bit of attention. He cared nothing about what they thought.

He squeezed through the gates of the palace, his straw body easily pressing past the thin space in between the bars. Wasting no time, he quickly scaled the wall that led to Glinda's room, remembering every foothold. He'd climbed down this very wall once before, when he'd run off to save Elphaba from the Gale Force Guards that day in the cornfield. It was the last time he'd ever been human, right before Elphaba had changed him in order to save his life.

Fiyero peeked tentatively into Glinda's bedroom through the glass doors of the balcony. Satisfied that the room was empty, he slipped inside and shut the doors carefully behind him, not wanting to draw a curious staff member into the room. He strode purposefully toward a nightstand that stood tall on the right side of the bed. With great care, he took Elphaba's note out of his pocket and placed it on the table. He did not read it. It was not meant for his eyes. His job completed, he quickly left the way he'd come, leaving no traces of his presence in his wake.

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When he arrived back at the cottage the sky had deepened to a dark Cerulean, and he lit a candle in the kitchen after he entered the house. He went back into Elphaba's quarters, and she stirred as she saw him enter. She said nothing aloud, but spoke to him with her eyes.

"She'll get it," he said simply. No further explanation was needed, for his meaning was clear.

"Thank you," Elphaba breathed, chest heaving with the effort. He went to her side and took her hand in his own once more. Her breaths became more labored and farther between, and then after a few minutes they came no more. Her final wish fulfilled, Elphaba let go. Fiyero let her now lifeless hand drop to her side once more and went into the kitchen.

He'd made up his mind a long time ago, but he had not told Elphaba, for he knew she would oppose the idea greatly. But it was fitting, and he knew that it was right. Fiyero Tiggular had been dead to the world for quite sometime now, and he was kept alive only through Elphaba. With her last breath she had taken his true identity with her, and so it was only fitting that his body be left behind as well.

He took the candle from its stand and went back into Elphaba's room. The hot wax dripped onto his burlap hand but he felt no burn. He went and sat by her bed. He knew she was gone, yet he felt no sadness. After all, it was foolish to grieve for his loss when he would be rejoining her in only a short time. There was nothing left for him here; he'd always known that there would be nothing left without her. Carefully he raised the candle and placed his fingers into the orange flames. The fire took hold immediately, and he watched as the flame spread quickly, consuming his entire arm in a matter of seconds. He felt nothing, but watched in a strange sort of fascination as the flames consumed him. It was only a matter of moments before he saw no more.

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Glinda the Good returned later that evening from an important meeting she been attending in Munchkinland. She'd been having tea with the governor as they discussed the building of a new schoolhouse. A new line of governors had been started, for the only two remaining Thropps had died tragically some years ago. It still hurt Glinda to think about it, but life moved on, and she had begun to heal over time. Though she doubted the pain would ever leave her completely.

She went about her late night routine as usual, finding nothing out of the ordinary. It was not until she was about to turn off her lamp that she found the strange piece of parchment sitting on her dresser. She picked it up curiously and unfurled it, her breath catching in her throat as she recognized the untidy handwriting she had not seen in ten years.

_Glinda,_

_I know it has been a while, and I know you have thought me dead for some time now. If you are reading this letter, then that is indeed true, but it has happened a lot more recently than you suspected. _

_I could not go without letting you know the truth. Know that I always wanted to tell you but the risk, for all involved, was far too great. I did not die that night at Kiamo Ko. With the help of Fiyero I fled, and we had been living as fugitives ever since. Yes, Fiyero too is alive. In fact he is the one who delivered this note to you. Do not attempt to find him, for you would not recognize him were he standing in front of you._

_A few months ago I fell ill, and it is that illness that is draining the last of my life from me as I write this note. I could not die without letting my best, my only friend; know the truth about what happened to me. Now I say goodbye once more, as we did ten years ago. I am confident that you are doing a great deal for Oz, and I wish you only happiness in you future._

_Elphie_

Glinda read the note in shock, unsure what to make of it when she was finished. All the time she'd been mourning for Elphaba, her friend had really been alive and well. She felt a bit betrayed that she had not been told, but understood her friend's reasoning. She looked down at the note once more, unable to believe Elphaba had only passed away a short while ago.

Yet she could not cry. It seemed pointless really. She'd mourned for Elphaba when she'd found out about her friend's death the first time. Why should she feel that heartache all over again now? She hadn't gotten the chance to see her friend again had she? It made no difference really, Elphaba was still gone, whether Glinda now knew the truth or not. Her heart still ached for the loss of her friend, but not much more than it did every day of her life.

Very carefully Glinda folded the note once more and rolled off of her bed. She proceeded to her closet, and crouched down in the corner. Slowly, she removed a normal looking shoe box and took the lid off of the top. Inside lay all she had left of her friend, the Grimmerie, a pointed black hat and a little green bottle. She placed the note lightly on top of these things and replaced the lid. That finished, she turned out the light in her closet and returned to bed.

Glinda found herself thinking about Elphaba for many hours into the night. She remembered their Shiz days, their trip to the Emerald City, and the way things had turned out in the end. She still could not believe that Elphaba had been out there for such a long time, and Glinda had never even heard from her again. She felt a prickling behind her eyes, and her throat constricted painfully, yet her eyes remained dry. She'd been through this all before; she had no tears left to cry.

**Yeah I know, very angsty and probably more than a little weird. I guess the part about Fiyero committing suicide might be a bit controversial, but I really don't think he'd have anything left if Elphaba died. I guess I was in a dark mood or something this morning. Anyway, that's all I've got for now. I'll probably be putting up the update for 'The Other Side of the Rainbow' (aka my happy, normal story) tomorrow afternoon. Please leave a review, as I'd really like some feedback.**

**S.P.**


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